Ex-Des Plaines cop says reporting misconduct cost him his job

Lawsuit says former deputy chief forced into retirement

August 17, 2012|By Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune reporter

(Google map illustration)

A former Des Plaines deputy police chief has sued the city and its former and current top officials, claiming he was forced to retire as retaliation for reporting the alleged misconduct of a police officer.

In the recently filed federal lawsuit, Richard Rozkuszka, 54, claims that he reported to former police Chief James Prandini five separate instances of misconduct by police Officer John Bueno, and that he was told each time by Prandini to "drop it."

Prandini, who retired Jan. 1, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Rozkuszka claims that Prandini warned him not to discipline Bueno, who was fired in March.

Bueno filed a racial discrimination complaint in November, claiming that Rozkuszka called him derogatory names related to his Hispanic heritage, according to a past Tribune report. Bueno could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The suit alleges that Prandini warned Rozkuszka he would be disciplined if he continued to pursue complaints against Bueno, including reporting such incidents to outside agencies. The suit also alleges that Prandini told Rozkuszka that the reports of alleged wrongdoing would "get us sued."

Prandini, Des Plaines Mayor Martin Moylan and former acting City Manager Jason Slowinski are all named in the suit, along with the city itself. Rozkuszka claims that he was told to retire or be fired during a meeting with Prandini, Slowinski and human resources Director Mike Earl.

"They told me that I was going to either retire or be terminated but that I didn't have a choice," he said in a news release announcing the suit. "After they chilled my speech and threatened my livelihood, they fired me for doing the right thing."

Moylan also claimed that Rozkuszka would not cooperate with that law firm's investigation, and "the city took appropriate action."

"We're confident that the city took appropriate action and will be vindicated in the course of this," Moylan said. Rozkuszka "is claiming he informed a superior. I've seen this guy in the halls many times. He never mentioned anything about any kind of misconduct."